A popular history of the Middle Ages. It looks at key events such as the birth of Gothic, the growth of unorthodox sects (the Cathars of Southern France and Bernard of Clairvaux are contrasted) and the great confrontation between Bernard and the philosopher Abelard. The book concludes with an analysis of Dante's divine comedy - which in many ways is a summary of late medieval thinking on art, love, theology, cosmology and science.